Transcript Integrating Environment into Programming

Update on the EU FLEGT
Voluntary Partnership Agreement
(VPA) processes
Beijing, 18 June 2008
Vincent van den Berk,
European Commission
EU Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade
The market sets the trend
 Critical end-users increasingly require legal and
sustainable timber
 Larger timber traders need to manage corporate and
reputational risk
 European trade federations develop systems to
provide such guarantees
 Market changing with traders talking to their
suppliers abroad
EU Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade
World-wide developments
 ‘Due diligence’ expected of buyers in many
commodity sectors
 Large traders forced to manage corporate and
reputation risk
 Trade federations developing codes of conduct
 Development of public procurement policies
 Legislation in prep criminalizing the trade in
illegally harvested timber products
EU Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade
The policy response in the EU
 Governments under pressure as a result of
public concern with deforestation
 Increasing recognition of the need for a
stepwise approach towards SFM
 Increasing recognition of the importance of
demand-side measures
 2003 EU FLEGT action plan
EU Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade
The EU FLEGT Action Plan
Strengthening existing bottom-up initiatives in the 27 EU
Member States under one umbrella (coordinate &
harmonize)
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Promote SFM
Development cooperation
Green Public Timber Procurement policies
Private sector purchasing policies
Financing and investment
Conflict timber
Money laundering
etcetera
EU Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade
The EU FLEGT Action Plan (new)
 Bilateral partnership agreements (VPA) with
wood-producing countries
 Additional legislation reinforcing the VPA’s by
measures to stop imports of illegal timber into the
EU
 Market incentives for FLEGT licensed timber
(EU Communication on Green Public
Procurement)
EU Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade
Voluntary partnership agreements I
Voluntary partnership agreements between
the EU and timber-producing countries to:
 Increase trade in guaranteed legal timber
between FLEGT countries and the EU;
 control & licensing systems to guarantee
legality;
 Provide financial, technical and
institutional support to improving forest
governance
EU Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade
Voluntary partnership agreements II
Timber Legality Assurance System (TLAS):
 Legality definition based on the laws of the producing
country;
 Legality assurance system includes chain of custody,
verification, licensing and Independent monitoring;
 Assurance system to build on existing control and
licensing systems
EU Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade
The Malaysia process
 Consultations started in April 2004
 Series of focussed consultations in 2005 – 2006
 September 2006 Malaysia and EU agreed to start
formal negotiations
 Formal negotiations; Technical working group
meetings; stakeholder consultations; market study
 VPA to be concluded by the end of 2008?
EU Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade
FLEGT Malaysia
 Long term market strategy. Increase market
share for processed timber products;
 Brand the country reputation;
 FLEGT as a tool towards sustainable forest
management
EU Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade
Three types of countries
Timber producing countries:
Negotiating: Malaysia, Indonesia, Ghana, Cameroon
Consulting: Gabon Congo DR & Brazza, Liberia,
Latin America
Processing hubs: like China and Vietnam
Consumer countries: Japan, USA, South Korea,
EU, (Australia, New Zealand)
EU Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade
[email protected]
Thank you
EU Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade